Sotouboua, Togo

Thirteen youth from Togo's East-Mono region took part in the production of a series of one-minute videos about our experience and perception of child trafficking and child labor. Our project was a collaboration between Plan Togo, The One Minutes Foundation and UNICEF. Many of us involved in creating this project had never seen a film before, but we talked honestly about the problem of trafficking from our own experiences. Many of us were given false promises of good paying jobs and educational opportunities but we returned having bad experiences where we were forced to work long days, in terrible conditions and we had no say or choice. In the videos we created, one youth found the courage to share her experience of sexual exploitation. Others spoke about the extreme conditions they encountered when they were forced to work from dawn until dusk with virtually no food or love, surviving on the hope of returning to their village with something to show. Many came back empty-handed. We hope our films will help you learn more about the issue of child trafficking in Togo and help prevent this from happening to other youths in our communities.